Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
The headlines just hours after Mitt Romney's trouncing of Newt Gingrich in Florida could be better. Romney is getting a lot of attention for a line from his interview with CNN this morning. He said:
"I'm not concerned about the very poor."
So of course everyone is flipping out. Two points in defense of his comment. The full context absolutely makes it better. The full quote:
"We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it. I'm not concerned about the very rich. They're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."
Reporters should stop ripping lines out of context and publicizing them under the banner "This could look bad." They should just report the news, not tell people what to think about it. Further, the idea that the very poor are taken care of by an extensive safety net is what the vast majority of Democrats have been saying for decades. That the media would be so upset when Romney says it annoys me.
And yet, this line also shows why so many of us are not exactly excited by a candidate Romney. Even if it weren't ill-advised to let these words come out of your mouth, ever, it's the underlying sentiment that gets me.
It bothers me both that a president would say "if" the safety net needs fixing, he'll look at it, suggesting that he believes the welfare state actually does a good job taking care of the poor.
As The Weekly Standard's John McCormack points out, "The safety net DOES need repair. The poor DO need jobs. The Obama economy and debt hurt the poor too. Stupid thing to say. As Paul Ryan says, when a debt crisis hits the elderly and the poor are hit the worst and the first. If it needs repair? Like we're not on the verge of a debt crisis? Like Medicaid in its current form is smart?"
I want a president who wants to reform our welfare state because he is worried about the very poor in our midst and he recognizes how poorly the federal government has handled their plight, frequently making it worse. I want a president who always thinks that a man should have a job over a safety net and remembers to talk about that at every opportunity.
I know that Mitt Romney didn't mean to sound cavalier and heartless. I don't think it was a sparkling moment of presidential politics to announce on national television that he's not concerned about the poor. But just last night he gave a speech with a powerful message about jobs and the future of the country. He should have remembered a few of those lines for his morning interview with CNN.
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Comments:
Nov '11
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
The only consoling thing about it is that the isolated quote sounds taken out of context -- it's so utterly unlike anything a politician would choose to say.
May '11
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
This is why...
Jul '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
If it needs fixing. If he notices. If he can find time to look into it. Commission a study. Refer a committee. I deigned to stand for office, he explains. It's Obama's fault, anyway. Fore!
Sep '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
I believe he was confused and downloaded iCad instead of iPad and channeled his inner T. Coddington Van Voorhees VII. I wouldn't worry about it. Together, he will ride us to victory. I've been watching this like a hawk, since Iowa.
"But enough about me, what do you think about me?"
Additional self esteem advice: "Its not worth getting angry about."
Edited on February 1, 2012 at 4:10pmMar '11
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Should Romney be the nominee, does anyone think the Obama campaign is going to worry about the context of that quote?
Jun '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
If you take the Dalai Lama's quotes out of context, creatively enough, you can probably make him sound like Charlie Sheen.
May '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Even in context the statement is bad because the poor don't need a repaired safety net, they need jobs... and education.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010 Census
Edited on February 1, 2012 at 4:13pmSep '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Leaving aside the disastrous implications of Trace's graph, its only fair to note that Romney rhymes with nominee.
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Trace Urdan: Even in context the statement is bad because the poor don't need a repaired safety net, they need jobs... and education.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010 Census · 4 minutes ago
Edited 3 minutes ago
Thank you, Trace. That is what I was trying to say. It's not the ripped-from-context line that bothers me. It's the completely-in-context part that bothers me.
May '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
You're on fire this morning Kitty. Time to lay down a couple of chapters in your comic novel while you're hot.
Mar '11
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Gee, I hope they get the Empathy and Personal Warmth modules running soon. Who is doing the integration on this system?
Jan '11
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Romney supporters - you asked for it.
Sep '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
RIM.
Sep '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
RIM and Canadian healthcare; they go together like...
Well, never mind.
Nov '11
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
I actually thought he was getting there last night -- talking about struggling homeowners in Florida, etc. Maybe that was a trial version, full upgrade to come.
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Jonah Goldberg looks at it politically:
Sep '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
All this negativity should not distort the reality that we will ride the birds of paradise with the windfarms at our backs, and the solar electric panels in our face on the backs of the very poor. Its a step up from janitor.
Sep '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.: Jonah Goldberg looks at it politically:
1 minute ago
When I smell smoke, I smell chimneysweeps.
Oct '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Thank goodness that gaffe machine Rick Perry was weeded out early...
Sep '10
Re: Romney Defends Status Quo, Poorly
Bob Dole will be releasing an incomprehensible statement shortly referring to empty ice buckets and Cialis.
Edited on February 1, 2012 at 5:11pm